Predicted Starting XI: K-League All Stars vs Manchester City (Pre-Season Friendly) | OneFootball

After a penalty shootout defeat against Inter, Enzo Maresca’s Manchester City will take on K-League All Stars in their second pre-season friendly in Seoul on Wednesday.

Saturday’s meeting with the Serie A champions marked the beginning of Enzo Maresca’s reign as Manchester City manager. Divin Mubama scored the first goal of the Italian’s tenure, converting Antoine Semenyo’s low cross from close range before Benjamin Pavard restored parity just six minutes later with a composed finish.

Despite the result, there were plenty of positives to take from City’s performance. The Blues dominated possession throughout and registered 24 shots to Inter’s 10, with Vitor Reis coming closest to scoring when his effort rattled the crossbar.

The contest was ultimately settled by a penalty shootout, where Rayan Ait-Nouri, Abdukodir Khusanov and Nico Gonzalez were all denied from the spot, while Claudio Echeverri’s Panenka proved to be City’s only successful effort.

Attention now turns to Wednesday’s encounter in Seoul, where Maresca will continue to assess his squad ahead of the new campaign. The Manchester City head coach has also been handed a timely boost, with Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias and Omar Marmoush returning to the travelling squad following an extended break after their involvement at this summer’s World Cup.

With this fixture being a friendly, it is very likely that there will be wholesale changes at half-time with the whole squad needing a test before the season opener.

Here’s how we think Enzo Maresca will name his squad for the second match of Manchester City’s pre-season tour.

Predicted XI

With James Trafford set to complete his move to Leeds United, it will most likely be Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal for the second match in a row. The Italian goalkeeper picked up exactly where he left off, making three saves as well as one penalty save against Inter.

Matheus Nunes didn’t feature as much as anyone would have expected at the World Cup, so pre-season action will be all the more important if he is to reach the form of last season. Rico Lewis made the most of his opportunity on Saturday and will no doubt be in line to play significant minutes in this one, but rotation will be key to give every player the minutes they need.

With Abdukodir Khusanov having played the full 90 on Saturday it feels as if it might be Ruben Dias‘ turn to return to City action this time around. Khusanov commanded the backline excellently against Inter and much like Rico Lewis will no doubt feature in the second-half. Dias was one of Portugal’s best performers at the World Cup, Maresca will be hoping for more of the same in this match.

Josko Gvardiol was withdrawn at half-time in the last match, most likely with the intention of another start in mind here. Gvardiol missed a significant part of last season through injury, a good pre-season will be crucial to help bring him back up to speed ahead of this campaign.

Rayan Ait-Nouri completed two crosses in the second-half against Inter, with one big chance created. The Algerian left-back struggled for consistent minutes last season following Nico O’Reilly’s excellent form during Ait-Nouri’s injury absence and AFCON involvement. Both player and supporters will now hope he can hit the ground running under Maresca. If he can continue from where he left off on Saturday, that may just be the case.

In Rodri’s absence, Nico Gonzalez will be looking to make the most of any opportunities thrown his way and it’s fair to say that he did exactly that with his second-half introduction last match. City stepped up their control in the second-half and Nico deserves much of the credit for it. Aside from Rico Lewis and Abdukodir Khusanov (who both played the full 90) nobody completed more passes than Nico, the metronome for City’s dominance.

Mateo Kovacic could be the experienced head this relatively young City side needs going into Enzo Maresca’s first season with several big names having departed this summer. Having missed out on the majority of last season’s action through injury, the Croatian midfielder will be desperate to hit the ground running this season.

Phil Foden captained his side last time out, and while he may not have grabbed headlines, no one created more big chances than his three. Enzo Maresca has made no secret of how highly he views Foden, getting him up to speed as quickly as possible will be vital to the Italian’s plans.

After an exciting display against Inter, Ryan McAidoo could be in line for just his fourth senior team appearance at Manchester City. With speculation around Savinho’s future still making the headlines, Mcaidoo could be a name to watch this season especially if his performance against Inter is anything to go by.

Divin Mubama grabbed the first goal of the Enzo Maresca era inside just 14 minutes last time out. In the absence of Erling Haaland, he may just get the nod again this time around.

Claudio Echeverri‘s Manchester City career has yet to truly get going, but a new manager offers a fresh opportunity. The Argentine looked lively in his second-half appearance on Saturday and a start here could give him the perfect boost from which to kickstart his season in sky blue.

Starting XI: Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, Ait-Nouri; Nico, Kovacic, Foden; McAidoo, Mubama, Echeverri

Substitutes: Bettinelli, Wint, Chabot, Alleyne, Mfuni, Khusanov, Reis, Braithwaite, Hendersson-Hall, Lewis, Reijnders, Mukasa, Samba, Heskey, Parker, Monga, Savinho, Semenyo, Marmoush, Sangare